


See you in my (fever) dreams

by cigarettesandalcohol



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Fever Dreams, Illnesses, Ivan is the cutest, Luka is brave, M/M, Sick Character, Sickfic, a bit of childhood memories, maybe a tiny bit of PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-17 07:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17556023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cigarettesandalcohol/pseuds/cigarettesandalcohol
Summary: Luka gets sick.Ivan gets overprotective.





	See you in my (fever) dreams

The first two days, Luka tried to fight his sudden weakness without saying a word. His voice was a little hoarse and dry, but that was easy to miss. And the cold shivers he could feel all over his body occasionally couldn't be seen. Thank God.

The hard part of this was trying to catch up with Ivan's ideas, plans, and thoughts when he himself felt numb and slow in all his reactions. 

"Are you okay?" Ivan asked him, looking at him with concern. "Your voice is a bit raspy."

"No, that's okay," he assured him with a smile. In that very moment, he has decided he wouldn't cough in the next few hours to not make Ivan suspicious. Being sick now was the last thing he'd like. It's just some stupid cold. That can be easily masked.

It still was much harder than he had thought, and he soon found out. His heavy eyelids just weren't listening to him and he couldn't help closing his eyes every few seconds while watching the TV with Ivan sitting next to him - the TV screen was shining too brightly it was hurting him, and he felt like his head was going to explode.

But Ivan wanted to watch the movie with him that night, so they watched the movie; Ivan with one hand thrown casually around Luka's shoulder and with the other holding a bowl with some snacks; a small, decent portion, to not ruin their diets, of course.

"You don't eat at all," Ivan pointed out and put the bowl on Luka's lap. "Take some, I can't eat it all myself."

"No thanks," he forced a smile, feeling really uncomfortable as his whole body was aching - not in a painful way but it still was the kind of feeling that wasn't supposed to be there. He can't be ill now, the team needs him - and he can cure himself by himself. One ibuprofen and he'll be as healthy as a horse.

He gently pushed the bowl with snack back to Ivan's lap and got up from the couch. "I'm just going to the bathroom - " he explained in response to Ivan's worried look.

"You look so tired - "

"I'm okay, really," he assured him hastily, already on his way out of the room. Jesus Christ the TV was so goddamn loud - he could still hear it from the hall.

Alright. Ibuprofen. He always took something of that kind with him, it should be in his bag with the shower gel and toothbrush he'd put on the edge of the sing. He rushed to the bathroom, switched the light on and turned on the water. It was so comfortingly cool, though his fingertips felt numb with frost as well. He splashed some water on his face, covered his tired, bloodshot eyes, and took a deep breath. Why now, why now of all times. He needs to play in two days. He will play, of course, he will.

Ivan too played with a fever and didn't say a word. 

He reached for the bag which was right by the sink tap but somehow managed to push it off the edge - of course it was open, and of course all the bag content fell on the floor with a loud rattle. The shower gel, the hair shampoo, the toothbrush, the toothpaste - 

"Fuck," he hissed through his gritted teeth and squatted down to quickly grab all the stuff. Maybe it wasn't that loud, maybe Ivan hasn't heard anything - 

"What was that? Luka - are you alright?" Ivan was somehow already standing in the doorway, looking down at him as he felt his knees go weak - he had to kneel on the ground for the balance - "What's wrong?"

"I just - dropped the toiletry bag - "

"What were you doing? I was afraid you might have fainted, you look so pale - " He reached out his hand to help Luka get up on his feet again but Luka refused, partly from his own silly pride and partly because he didn't want Ivan to feel how cold his fingers are. 

"I'm just tired," he mumbled, getting back on his feet, leaning on the edge of the sink. He put all the items back inside the bag. "I wanted to brush my teeth and go to sleep. Sorry, I'm so tired - I just want to sleep."

"That's okay, baby - we can finish the movie tomorrow - "

"No, no, you can watch the rest of it - you know, I don't care - I'm not really much into this movie - "

Well, he couldn't follow the story through the constant pain in his temples. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah - I'll just go to sleep, I don't want to spoil you this movie night."

Ivan's eyes were still scanning him as if he didn't want to leave. "Alright," he said then, still not looking quite convinced. Then, he quickly leaned closer to give him a quick peck on his lips. "Sweet dreams."

Oh God, great, now Ivan will get sick as well, Luka though as he watched him leave the bathroom.

 

 

 It felt like an eternity until he fell asleep, he rolled over at least a hundred times, trying to find the best position to rest his heavy head. His throat was on fire. His forehead was heated, and he was sure he wouldn't look pale now; more like reddish in his face. The cold shivers crept across his body again, this time in regular waves, along with a sudden sharp pain in his chest. It was hell and he just wished it could be day again because doing something kept his mind busy from focusing on the pain.

He couldn't move, for the love of God, he couldn't move, his feet felt too heavy though he was standing on a beautiful summer field, with colorful flowers all around him, and he could feel the sun shining so brightly, burning his skin with its rays, but he could also hear a real burning - a fire and the way it crackled and he thought of a barbecue party, because it was summer and summer is about barbecues, right? - but there were no people, just one building, and it was on fire, and he watched it burn, then someone shouted 'Hey! Give me that ball back!' and out of nowhere, there was Suba, in his goalkeeper kit, reaching out his hands to catch the ball, and Luka looked down, the football was really at his feet, so he picked it up, and it was unusually heavy, and a woman's voice asked him 'What are your thoughts now, winning the Ballon d'Or as the first Croat ever?' and he was looking directly in some camera.

'Yeah it's great,' he said humbly. It was embarrassing, he didn't have his Dolce & Gabbana suit on.

'The ball'! Suba shouted again, coming closer; and he nodded, throwing the ball as far as he could.

It barely even touched the ground before exploding without any sound.

Danijel shrugged. 'Wanna see you play with this against Spain tomorrow.'

The female reporter started shouting hysterically. "We're live, live with Luka Modrić - Luka, how do you feel now?" Her hair was everywhere and the wind was swirling around as there was a helicopter, the army one, with a ladder hanging from it. "We'll cover the next 24 hours with Luka Modrić!" she yelled as she started climbing the ladder.

He tried to move to get on the ladder as well - 

'We'll be back with our Croatian superhero soon!' 

 _'I need to get dressed for the photoshoot_!'

' - the one and only, Luka Modrić!'

And suddenly, there were people clapping and cheering, and he realized he was on a big screen - or more like, he was watching a big screen from his seat in some sort of cinema, and it felt weird because why would he be watching a movie about himself? - but when he got up and walked away from the projecting room, he was back on the summer field, only now there was no Suba and no reporter and no house on fire, and when he turned back to find the magic door to that cinema he couldn't see anything.

It was just him and his feet with shoes that felt too heavy to lift and a simple sign:

 

_Ne prilazite. Na ovom području je velika opasnost od mina._

 

He closed his eyes and didn't dare to move.

 " _Lukita_!" a sharp sudden voice whispers right in his ear and it's so sudden and unexpected his eyes snap open in that moment and he kicks instinctively only to find out he's surrounded by darkness and someone is holding him tight in their arms. 

" _Lukita, baby -_ "

 Soft lips touch his burning cheek and they feel so soothingly cold he wants to lean closer.

He can't control his moves. His body is shaking, not on the inside, as it's easy to hide, but really violently shaking it appears to be more of a convulsion.

But Ivan doesn't let him move too much. He squeezes him in his arms, fondling with the damp hair on the back of his head tenderly.

" _It's okay_ \- "

He kisses him over and over again, mumbling more and more reassuring words, and Luka can't say anything, in his mind, he's still trapped on that goddamn field that looked so beautiful in the summer - 

" _I'm here - I'm here_ \- " He tries to rock him a little, just like a crying baby.

Maybe he's crying.

He doesn't recognize his body anymore.

" _Ssshh, ssshh, ssshh_ \- "

 He kissed his cheek again and pulls away a bit, just to find himself staring straight into Luka's now wide open dark eyes.

" _Are you with me, baby_?"

 It's the sweetest kind of question, yet Luka still can't answer.

How does talking works? In the dream, he wasn't really talking - well, he definitely wasn't opening his mouth, he was just somehow processing his thoughts with some inner voice or something - 

He curls his fingers against something and soon realizes it's Ivan's hip, and Ivan answers by closing the tiniest bit of space between their bodies. It's too hot in the bedroom, and the air is sweaty and not fresh at all, but Luka doesn't mind - Ivan's weight against his body which feels like it's falling apart, makes his frantic heartbeat slowly but surely get more content and regular.

"Good, good," he praises Luka as he gets his breathing back to _almost_ normal. "You're doing so well."

All of sudden, he can remember how talking works.

"I had the weirdest dream - "

"You were fighting with the sheets, mumbling something about getting dressed - " Ivan's hand still steadily slides up and down the back of his head. 

This feels much better than ibuprofen.

"That's not all - "

He wants to tell him about the worse part of the dream, the obvious childhood link, but the whole world swings at that moment so violently he actually feels like he might throw up, and then it swings back and Luka's vision is spinning. Keeping his eyes closed makes it only worse.

He can hear Ivan's concerned "Lukita - Lukita, what's wrong - " as he pushed him away with a sudden urgent need to get out of the bed which has now become the personified hell and get to the bathroom as quickly as possible, though it's not easy with his legs feeling like jelly and it takes him only two or three steps to stumble and slowly go down - he doesn't fall, he slowly gets on his knees and then sits back and falls forward, pressing his forehead against the floor, gritting his teeth with the cold shivers again - 

"I'll bring the bucket - "

Do they have a bucket in here? He's surprised how brightly his mind works now. Where does Ivan want to get it? From the maid? He laughs desperately and rolls onto his side, into the fetus position, which now seems like the most comfortable; well, if he wasn't laying on the floor. Ivan kneels by him and actually has a bucket, and he tries to help Luka get up.

"No, no, it's better like this - " Luka hums, afraid that another change of position might _actually_ make him sick. "I'm okay - " he whispers breathlessly. "I'm okay."

The floor also feels nicely cold against his cheek, though he can almost feel all the dirt on his face now.

His mind is back. And he's glad. The painkiller he took before going to sleep got him rid of his tired slow thinking but seemed to add some more physical troubles.

"If I shit or throw up all over the floor - " he tries to laugh - "I'm sorry - "

Ivan ran his fingers through his Luka's hair and chuckled a little, though his worries were noticeable even in that short laugh.

"Lukita - you can't do this to me," he whispered and leaned over him to give him a kiss.

"Don't - " Luka warned him. "I'm gonna make you sick too."

"You wanna lay here all night?"

Luka smiled exhaustingly. "The floor is much cooler than the bed."

"I could damp the sheets in cold water - "

"No, don't worry about that."

"Luka, I won't let you sleep here like this."

 "I'm alright - " The world is not spinning anymore but he's afraid it might start again if he tries to get up and walk to the bed. "Leave me here - "

Ivan's tender hand is gone for a moment and Luka can hear his footsteps, moving around the room.

He's back with the blanket, and he carefully lays it over Luka's body. "At least have this, baby."

"Don't worry about me - "

"I'll be right back," Ivan assures him.

Luka has lost the track of time, he's caught somewhere on the edge of being awake and sleeping, but still, he could hear some noises from the other room, running water, Ivan opening and closing the wardrobe, his footsteps, the sound of water boiling in the kettle - 

"You should have told me you don't feel well," Ivan speaks as he walks past him, carrying a mug of fuming tea. Luka can't see that; his eyes are closed, but he immediately recognizes the sound of the mug being put down on the night table. "I'll help you get back to the bed, alright?"

He took the blanket off him again and touched his shoulder. "Can you sit up? Slowly - just sit up. I'll help you."

Luka does as he's told, though he still wants to protest. "Ivan, I would - I would get up by myself - in a few minutes - "

"I won't let you lay on the ground. Good, baby - now I'll help you get up, okay? On three. One - two - three - "

Ivan practically lifts him and makes him stand up on his feet again, with his hand wrapped around his waist and his own body pressed to him as a kind of support.

"Good? Can you walk now?"

He's still weak but sure, he can walk, Ivan is just being ridiculously overprotective, but Luka doesn't mind, it's actually nice and Ivan's soft kisses that he plants on the back of his head as a constant display of support and love, actually help him feel better. 

Ivan led him to the bed and helped him to lie down. "There's tea for you in that mug," he said, pointing to the mug on the nightstand. "I'll bring you the blanket and a towel for your forehead. And I'll leave the bucket here by the side of the bed - just in case - " He stroked Luka's flushed cheek before leaving him again, just for a while, to get all the things he'd promised. The bucket, the blanket, the towel - 

He tucked Luka under the blanket, making sure his whole body is covered with it, and then pressed the cold damp towel on his forehead. Luka almost moaned - it really felt relieving to feel something this cold against his burning skin.

The bed crackled a little as Ivan got in it from the other side. "Do you think you can sleep like this?"

"Yeah."

Ivan moved closer to him, adjusting the towel a little before lying down right beside him as his big spoon. "I'm here if you need anything," he mumbled, covering himself with his own blanket and then finding a way to Luka's body under the sheets. He wrapped his arm around Luka's waist, pulling him closer, pressing his face in Luka's hair, kissing the back of his head again. "Just please, talk to me. Tell me if anything's wrong. Okay?" He kissed Luka's shoulder. "I hope you won't have any bad dreams now."

"It was - a bizarre dream - Like my whole life - all at once - From childhood - "

He didn't need to say more. Ivan's arms tightened around him instinctively. "It's okay now. I'm with you."

"Thank you."

"Don't worry, Lukita. I've got you. Everything is alright."


End file.
